Cefalù Cathedral
the chystro

Squaring the circle

Entering the cloister of Cefalù Cathedral not only means plunging into a path steeped in medieval art that seems to reawaken the different decorative motifs animating the capitals of the columns as we pass, but also being pervaded by an architecture of light.
In accordance with Christian symbolism, it is oriented so that each of its spaces is illuminated in a different way, following the orientation of the sun.
Following its itinerary, made up of the transcendence of the circle inserted in the immanence of the square, we are invited to embark on a spiritual journey of purification that begins where the light sets, symbolically linked to Adam and the Old Testament, and then reaches the New Testament dimension, pervaded by the radiance of the incarnation and the promise. Even the plants arranged in the garden have always represented an ascetic message, capable of enveloping those who walk through it in a sense of theophany that unfolds along the way.

The construction of Monreale Cathedral: between myth and history

Porphyry sarcophagi: royalty and power

Two initially similar towers, varied over time

The dialogue between the architectures of the monumental complex

The Chapel of the Kings

The links between the hauteville family and the monastic orders in Sicily

The rediscovered chapel

Biblical themes enlivened by the dazzling light of the stained – glass windows overlooking the naves

A palimpsest of history

Ecclesia munita

The Virgin Hodegetria

A compositional design that combines nordic examples with new artistic languages, over the centuries

The cultural substrate through time

The southern portico

Mosaic decoration

The Cefalù cathedral: a construction yard undergoing a change between a surge of faith and control over the territory

Artistic elements in Peter’s ship

The chapel of san Castrense: an important renaissance work

The original design

The longest aisle

The area of the Sanctuary

The stone bible

The marble portal: an intimate dialogue between complex ornamental aspects and formal structure

Roger II of hauteville: a sovereign protected by God

The chystro: a place between earth and sky

A chapel by an unknown designer based on repeated symmetries

The towers and the western facade

The plasticism of the main portico and Bonanno Pisano’s Monumental Bronze Door

The architectural modifications ti the cathedral building after the death of Roger II and the transformations of the cloister

Under the crosses of the Bema

A new Cathedral

The balance between architecture and light

Roger II’s strategic design

Norman religious architecture with islamic influences in Sicily

The Kings’ Cathedrals

Characteristics of religious architecture in the romanesque period

The side aisles

The king’s mark

The mosaics of the apses

The decorated facade

Palermo: the happiest city

A tree full of life

The beginning of the construction site

The liturgical spaces of the protesis and the diaconicon

Beyond the harmony of proportions

A Northern population

A mixture of styles pervades the floor decorations

Tempus fugit: a strategic project implemented in a short period of time

Squaring the circle

Survey of the royal tombs

Layers of different cultures decorate the external apses

The transformations of the hall through the centuries

The chapel of St. Benedict

A remarkable ceiling

The Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

The paradisiacal “Conca d’oro” that embraces Palermo: a name with countless faces through time

The towers facing the facade used as bell towers

A space between the visible and the invisible

Transformations over the centuries

The cemetery of kings

From the main gate to the aisles: an invitation to a journey of faith

The side Portico: a combination of elegance and lightness of form

The Gualtiero Cathedral

Interior decorations

Cefalù: settlement evidence through time

The senses tell Context 1

The Great Presbytery: a unique space for the cathedral

The Cathedral over the centuries

The lost chapel

Worship services

A controversial interpretation

The mosaics of the presbytery

From the Mosque to the Cathedral

The columns of the nave: the meticulous study of the overall order

Gardens and architecture as a backdrop to the city of Palermo

Thirteenth-century iconography decorates the nave’s wooden ceiling, designed with new solutions

A polysemy of high-level artistic forms and content

The medieval city amidst monasticism and feudal aristocracy

A cloister of accentuated stylistic variety

The Great Restoration

The Bible carved in stone

The chapel of the crucifix: an artistic casket based on a previous model

The chorus: beating heart of the cathedral